Chapter 191 Alaric's Mood is Particularly Bad Today
Cordelia showed no reaction to the fact that he had just shared a drink with Fiona.
Dominic's voice calling her was drowned out by the music. She glanced down at the time, then looked up at Dominic and said slowly.
"Can we go now?" In the noisy bar environment, she unconsciously raised her voice.
Hearing her voice, Dominic nodded and stood up from the sofa, immediately saying goodbye to his classmates.
"It's getting late, I should go."
A classmate next to Dominic immediately grabbed him, "It's not even ten o'clock yet, the real nightlife hasn't even started."
"Ms. Stone, stay and hang out a bit longer before leaving? We haven't seen each other in so many years."
Dominic had good relationships with them, and since they rarely got together, everyone naturally didn't want him to leave, so they started trying to keep Cordelia there.
"If Ms. Stone wants to leave, let her go first. We'll make sure to send Dominic home later." Quinn, a woman next to Fiona, looked at Cordelia and said with a smile.
Fiona also smiled graciously, looking at Cordelia. "Yes, Ms. Stone, we've all been classmates with Dominic for many years. After Dominic went to Astoria, we lost contact."
"Now that we've all grown up with our own careers and families, who knows when we'll be able to get together like this again."
"If you're upset about that drink earlier, I can apologize to you."
Quinn quickly tugged at Fiona's hand, the two of them playing off each other.
"What are you apologizing for? It was just a game, not like we did anything terrible."
"Besides, Ms. Stone isn't even Dominic's girlfriend. Even if you should apologize, it shouldn't be to her."
After Quinn finished speaking, another woman beside her nodded in agreement. "Exactly, making a big deal out of nothing."
Cordelia was amused by their back-and-forth.
"Whether Dominic wants to stay and keep you company is his business. Whether I leave or not is mine."
"You tricked me into coming here and then pulled this targeting stunt - that's something kindergarten kids would do. We're all adults now, we shouldn't be doing this."
Dominic saw the displeasure in Cordelia's expression and sobered up quite a bit.
"Cordelia, I'm sorry."
Cordelia's lips curved into a faint smile as she said casually.
"Dominic, I'm fine. It's rare for you to get together with your classmates, you really should stay and have more fun."
Dominic looked troubled at her words.
"Cordelia, I..."
Cordelia's expression remained calm. "I'll head back first. I have to work tomorrow."
After saying this, she turned and left.
Dominic was about to chase after her when his classmates grabbed him and pulled him back down onto the sofa.
"Ms. Stone isn't our classmate after all, she definitely can't have fun with us. It's better that she left - saves us from being awkward and her too."
Herschel held his alcohol well and showed no signs of being drunk. Seeing Dominic struggling to get up, he patted his shoulder.
"You sit tight and have fun. I'll go see her off for you."
Dominic stopped struggling and nodded.
When Cordelia walked out of the bar, she ran into Julian returning from outside at the entrance.
"Ms. Stone."
Julian took the initiative to greet Cordelia.
Although Cordelia didn't like him, she still nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Her steps didn't pause as she quickly walked down the stairs.
Julian stood in place, staring at her retreating figure for a while.
When Herschel came out, he saw Julian standing at the bar entrance with his hands in his pockets, his gaze fixed with unclear meaning on a direction where there was no longer anyone in sight.
"Julian? What brings you here today?"
Julian was the largest shareholder of this bar, while Herschel was the smallest shareholder.
The smallest shareholders didn't get much money each month, so many small shareholders chose to work at the bar to earn a base salary and commission.
Julian withdrew his gaze, looked at Herschel, and asked coolly.
"You came out to see Ms. Stone off?"
A strange look flashed in Herschel's eyes. "Julian, you know Cordelia too?"
Julian's gaze swept over him coldly as he walked into the elevator.
The moment the elevator doors closed, Herschel heard Julian's voice, cold and heavy, say one sentence.
"Don't get any ideas."
Herschel froze in place for a long time without moving.
He glanced outside the bar and happened to see Cordelia driving her car out of the garage.
When Cordelia was paying for parking, she saw Herschel standing at the bar entrance.
She hesitated, but still couldn't ignore the guilt in her heart.
She backed her car into the parking spot, opened the door, got out, and walked over.
"Mr. Trevino, let's exchange contact information."
Herschel was stunned, looking at her standing in front of him smiling at him, his feelings somewhat complicated.
"So I can refer clients to you." Seeing he hadn't taken out his phone, Cordelia added another sentence.
"Sure." Herschel readily agreed and exchanged contact information with Cordelia.
Cordelia also saved his number in her contacts.
When leaving, Cordelia still couldn't help herself, looking at Herschel seriously.
"Mr. Trevino, I'm truly sorry."
If she had paid even a little attention back then, she might have discovered that Herschel had been wrongly accused.
But she hadn't heard a whisper about it.
At seventeen or eighteen, when first awakening to love, when the object of her secret crush suddenly got a girlfriend, she felt like her whole world had fallen into darkness, losing interest in everything around her.
"It's all in the past."
"Cordelia, don't burden yourself too much with it."
Herschel reached out and patted Cordelia's shoulder. "Let me walk you to your car."
Cordelia nodded.
Herschel walked to Cordelia's car and opened the door for her.
Cordelia bent down to get in the car.
Herschel supported both sides of the car door, smiling as he said to Cordelia.
"If you really feel bad about it, how about you treat me to a meal sometime?"
"After the meal, we'll call it even."
Cordelia readily agreed.
"Okay."
Herschel smiled with satisfaction and waved goodbye to Cordelia.
In the outdoor parking lot across from the bar.
Alaric sat in his car, his gaze cold and sharp as he stared in the direction of the bar.
He watched with his own eyes as Cordelia took the initiative to approach and talk to Herschel, then saw Herschel lean intimately against her car window to talk with her.
His expression grew colder and his mood increasingly irritable.
He casually grabbed a cigarette from the storage box and had just put it in his mouth to light it when Cordelia's words about smoking being bad for his recovery floated through his mind.
With a cold face, he shoved the lighter back into the car, irritably took the cigarette from his lips, and crushed it in his palm.
As Cordelia's car pulled out of the bar, Alaric also hit the gas and shot out of the parking lot.
Cordelia had just turned out when she nearly collided with Alaric's car. She slammed on the brakes, her body lurching forward with the momentum.
She looked up to see that the car that had rushed over and cut her off was actually Alaric's, and couldn't help but frown tightly.
Alaric seemed to be in an especially bad mood today.